The other guard closed in from my right and I backed away. Shadow squirmed in my arms, but I wouldn’t let him go. Not now, not when this guy could so easily stomp on him. But he wouldn’t relent. The lizard creature protested and pushed at my tight embrace as the guard neared us. Eirik moved to my side and tugged at my sleeve, motioning for me to get behind them. But Shadow’s little body convulsed and expanded in my hands like a balloon before he squeezed the air out in a massive flame.
“Ahh!” I screamed while the heat reflected back on me as if I were holding a flame thrower.
Shadow kept going, pushing out long powerful flames toward the guard until the white feathers of his wings caught fire. We stood in shock as the man flapped about, trying to douse the flames, but they continued to spread, and he took to the skies. His partner scrambled to his feet and followed after him, leaving the three of us standing there in utter amazement.
My jaw hung open; my unblinking stare fixed on the quickly disappearing guards in the distance. “What. Was. That?”
“It appears your Tanin pet can breathe fire,” Eirik replied.
Shadow hiccupped and a puff of smoke squeezed from his throat.
“Did you know he could do that?” I asked.
They shook their head. “No, he’s never shown abilities like that.” They paused to examine their own hands, stretching out both arms and flexing admiringly. “As for me…”
“You said the Venuvians are a peaceful, non-violent race?” I answered.
Eirik nodded innocently. “That we are. We’re sworn to do no harm. Yet are built with these large, able bodies. Clearly I have a lot to learn about my own abilities.”
“Well, whatever the reason, I’m grateful you were with me.”
They seemed unnerved by this new discovery. “Perhaps, for now, we keep this information between us. I’m not sure…” Eirik pressed their lips together in thought. “I don’t wish to know how others of my kind will choose to see this. They already are uneased by my fascination with other cultures. The languages, adapting my vocal chords.”
“Really?” I guffawed. “Seems a little dramatic, if you ask me. You should be able to defend yourself.”
Eirik shook their head. “Venuvians are experts at ensuring we don’t insert ourselves in situations where we’d need to.”
I patted their arm. “Well, your secret’s safe with me.” I inhaled deeply and cast my gaze to the distance where I knew Horus’ palace awaited. “But we should get going. Those two guards are going to make this harder than it has to be. Horus will be waiting for us.”
“We’ll have to be extra careful,” Eirik replied. “Should we wait until the fall of night to sneak in?”
I chewed at my lip anxiously. “No. That will only give him more time to prepare. We have to go now if we want any chance at all.”
We bounded toward the line of the palace where it cut the sky. I began this formidable journey to save Silas with nothing more than rage and will power to fuel me. But now, with time to consider what I was really doing, fear rankled in my chest. I was walking right back into the arms of the man who’d, just days ago, tortured me to the brink of death. I thought Silas was a fool for going back…
But what did that make me?
Chapter Seven
We skirted the edge of the sand dune that protectively semi-circled around Horus’ palace and peered down at the stone property. At first glance, it looked like a busy shopping center with bodies bustling about. Not at all what it was like during my time here. My cell looked out onto the courtyard, the center of it all. And I didn’t see a single other soul while I lay there on the floor.
“There’s too many people around,” I said.
Eirik’s eyes scanned about. Then they stretched their arm and pointed. “There. Around the back. It’s an open window on the main level. If we can get down the side of this dune without being seen–”
“We can!” I touched their arm. “I know a way. Follow me.”
We snuck around the edge until the window was directly below us. We just had forty of fifty feet to decline first. I sat down in the sand and looked up at Eirik.
“I used to do this all the time when Dad and I were set up in a desert area for a while. For fun.” I tucked my knees to my chest and inched towards the edge. “Use your back as a slide and you’ll zip right to the bottom.”
Shadow scampered over to me and chirped worriedly. I loosened my legs to create a cradle in my arms.
“Come on,” I said and held him tightly when he crawled into my lap.
I lifted my feet and rocked back as I inched toward the edge, then spilled over and slid all the way to the bottom of the dune. My hair flapping behind. It was a bit of a rush and, as the pleasant memories of my childhood blinked through my mind, I stifled the urge to let out a wahoo!
When I came to a stop, in the chilly shadow of the back of the palace, I pushed to my feet and turned to watch Eirik’s stark white figure rocket all the way down. The second they touched the bottom, they barrel rolled and sprung to their feet, their expression bursting with glee.
“Shhh,” I whispered and put a finger over my lips.
Eirik lowered their head. “That was exhilarating.”
“I know.” I grinned, but then glanced around. “We have to stay quiet, though. If Silas is being held prisoner, then he’s probably in the cells near the courtyard. Let’s sneak in this window and get as close as we can to wait out the crowd of people. They can’t stick around forever.”
Eirik nodded. “Lead the way.”
I carefully lifted my leg over the low open sill and stepped inside the palace. It was a dim and empty room, filled with bookshelves and tables with open texts splayed about. I crept toward the closed door and opened it a crack as Eirik kept close to my back. I slowly peeked my head out and glanced up and down the hallway.
“All clear,” I whispered over my shoulder and opened the door all the way.
We tiptoed through the corridors, winding around corners and slipping into dark doorways whenever footsteps could be heard. Finally, we neared the courtyard, the center of the palace. We hid behind one of the many massive columns that lined the perimeter while people–servants–busied about.
The open ceiling let warm light fill the space and bathed the luscious greenery in sunshine. A large stone fountain trickled water in and over itself from the center, splashing over the rim of its circular basin onto the intricate stone tiled floor. Carvings masked every surface, highlighted with colors of teal and red with bits of gold. Images of other Gods and creatures, mostly avian in nature. Horus definitely had a swanky pad; I’d give him that. But one detail befuddled me.
The holding cells were gone.
The wall along the back where a handful of cells once were, was now a solid expanse of brick. As if they were never there to begin with. That didn’t make any sense. My forehead pinched, and I turned to Eirik.
“I don’t get it,” I whispered. “The cells are gone.”
“Are you certain this is where you were?”
I pursed my lips together and took another look around. “Yes, definitely. But how do you make something like that disappear? I-I don’t know where else he’d be keeping Silas.”
A yelp escaped my throat as a hand grabbed hold of my arm and wrenched me around. Eirik spun, too, and we faced the very person we came to save. But he didn’t look very happy to see us.
“What are you doing here?” Silas barked.
“We’ve come to rescue you,” Eirik chimed in, oblivious to his sour mood.
His eyed widened with a fiery disbelief and he fixed his gaze on me. “Why didn’t you go home?”
I yanked my arm from his grasp. “Go home? I can’t believe you would just ship me off like that! As if I mean nothing to you!”
He took a panicked glance from side to side. “Keep your voice down.” He sighed but it did nothing to calm his seething anger. “Andie, you mean everything to me. That’s why I did it. Do you think it was easy f
or me to say goodbye to you again?”
I shook my head, fighting back tears. “But you didn’t say goodbye. You made me think everything was okay and you disappeared. Like a coward.” Shadow wrapped his tiny arms around my leg, and I felt a warmth seep through my pants. He was scared and worried. “I knew something was wrong. I can’t believe you’d just waltz back to your brother after everything we did to save you. After everything I went through.”
Silas pinched the bridge of his nose. “Go, Andie. Now. Before my brother discovers you’re here and extracts even more information from your mind.”
“What?” I replied. “No, he can’t. I didn’t get the chance to explain it all to you, but he can’t get in my head.”
His face softened with relief as he looked at me, a hint of hope in his eyes. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Yes. He tried and tried, but it wouldn’t work. That’s why he…” Speaking of the events trudged up the still-fresh memories of the torture Horus inflicted on me. I mindlessly reached up to my neck. The wound now gone, but the emotional scar would forever be there.
Silas gripped my arms and forced me to meet his pointed stare. “Listen to me. You have to leave this place.” He regarded Eirik for a second. “If he can’t control her mind then she’s useless to him. He’ll just kill her.”
My friend stiffened and gave me a torn and pleading look of helplessness.
I shook desperately. “No, don’t listen to him.” I wiggled from Silas’ grasp and narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not a child. And I demand to know what sort of deal you made with your brother to get me out of here.”
He took a step away and tossed his head back with exasperation. “I willingly offered myself to Horus if he agreed to let you go. Alive. And to give me time to make sure you were safe and healed. I swore to return to him.”
I punched him in the arm. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
He rubbed at the spot I jabbed. “I couldn’t be sure what my brother extracted from your mind! So, I arranged to have the portal destroyed after Alistair took you home. So, Horus could never use it for…” Silas threw a nervous sideways glance at Eirik. “For what I altered it to do.”
A brazen smile spread across my face. “The portal is safe, I swear. Your brother couldn’t get inside my head.”
“A slight setback, indeed,” another voice sounded from a few feet away. My heart jumped into my throat and I spun around to find Horus sauntering his way toward us. “But I’ll find a way in, eventually.” His conniving grin unnerved me as he circled around our little group like a predator stalking its prey.
“Brother,” Silas replied dutifully, his arm stretched out across my front in a protective manner. “Apologies. I had no idea she’d come back. I’ll make sure she’s gone.”
Horus ignored his sibling’s plea and fixed his stare on Shadow at my feet. His dark eyes flashed. “A Tanin seedling? My, I didn’t think any took root here on Earth. What an interesting notion.” He clucked his tongue at me. His carefree act sicked me. “I’d watch out if I were you. It may be cute now, but they grow up to be monsters.” He grimaced in Eirik’s direction for a second. “Just ask the Venuvian.” He then leaned toward me and my nerves ran cold with fright. “Trust me. If you think I’m bad, then you’d never survive a run-in with a full grown Tanin. Even with earthling DNA to water it down.”
I could feel the anxiousness that tightened Silas’ body, it practically hummed over the surface of his skin. The way his back stiffened like a board, his feet spread, ready to defend me.
“Horus, allow me time to escort Andie away from here, please.”
The mentally unstable god examined his brother’s face with a stoic demeanor as an awkward and tense silence fell around us. My heart raced as I waited for…anything. For someone to speak or make a move. Finally, Horus let out a loud chuckle that cut through the air and my stomach flopped when his calculating stare fixed on me.
“Where have you been all my life?” He jabbed a thumb in Silas’ direction. “Controlling my brother has never been easier. He’s never been so compliant. So…willing.” Horus tucked his hands behind his back and stepped away. He grinned at Silas. “Why don’t you ask your dear Andie to join us for the party tonight?”
“Absolutely not!” Silas replied through his teeth.
Horus’ expression quickly morphed to spite, further solidifying his status as unhinged. He couldn’t be trusted, that much was evident. And now, there was something he wanted. Me, to come to this party. And his brother stood in his way.
“You challenge me?” he tested.
Silas’s arm flexed and he pushed me farther behind him. Eirik shifted closer to me, bracing, seemingly ready to yank me from this tense situation at the drop of a pin. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, that’s not what I came here for. I opened my mouth to relent, but Silas beat me to it.
“No,” he replied sadly, and his shoulders slumped.
Akin to the way a child’s mood changes on a whim, Horus suddenly beamed and clapped his hands together. “Excellent! Your precious Andie will join us this evening.” He paused to gawk the length of Eirik. “The Venuvian scum is not invited.”
My fists clenched as an unexpected ball of anger rolled in my gut. “If my friend can’t come, then neither will I.”
Horus drastically rolled his eyes and his head lulled to the side to scrutinize his brother. “I see why you like her.” An exaggerated sigh deflated from his chest. “Very well. The Venuvian can come. But you both must be dressed for the occasion.” He snapped two fingers at a passerby, a servant woman, and he placed a firm hand on their shoulder. “Take these two away to meet with the seamstress and have them dressed for the event.”
The woman nervously bowed her head and motioned for us to follow. I hesitated, waiting for a cue from Silas to tell me to run. That he’d follow and we could escape this place. But he remained still. A pained look evident in his tortured expression.
With Eirik and Shadow in tow, I followed the woman down the echoey hall. I glanced over my shoulder where the two brothers stood watching us leave. One bouncing with disturbing joy, the other stiff and distressed as he stood as still as a statue. His glossy eyes never blinking, never leaving mine as I put more distance between us. As I turned a corner, I wished Silas had the ability to read my mind, so I could tell him I loved him and that everything would be alright. But I knew, just as I was sure he did, that would be a lie. He disappeared behind the wall and I immediately flew into panic-mode.
What have I gotten us into?
Chapter Eight
We were led to a far room to the more Eastern side of the palace. The servant woman ushered us inside and then closed the door, locking it before she disappeared back down the hall. Shadow scurried over to the window and sat on the wide sill while looking down at the chasm below. No escaping that way, I guess.
I turned to Eirik. “Don’t suppose flying is one of your hidden abilities, is it?”
They frowned and stood in the center of the room. “Afraid not.”
I spun around and examined the room. It was massive, housing a wide canopy bed adorned in blankets of silken textures mixed with furs. Stunning artwork plastered across the walls, depicting scenes of Horus standing with Ra, the Sun God, while crowds of people worshipped at his feet. I guffawed and plucked one of many trinkets from a table. A golden figurine of a bird.
“He sure likes the finer things in life, doesn’t he?” I said.
“It appears to me that one of those finer things is you right now,” Eirik replied. “Amun was right. If Horus can’t get inside your mind, then you’re useless to him. But that’s not the case. He sees value in you, in the way he can use you to control his brother.”
I rubbed my hands over my exhausted face. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” I hugged myself tightly and shook my head. “God, right about now is when I’d devour an entire bottle of vodka.”
“Is that what you call your affliction?” Eirik
asked as they swayed over to the large open archway and peered down at the expanse below.
A sigh tumbled from my chest. “It’s my preferred drink of choice. Like wine. Where I come from it’s consumed just as much as wine, anyway.”
They gave me a puzzled look. “Where do you come from?”
My mind stumbled over words. The right words to say. Obviously, I’d said too much in the presence of Eirik, enough to spark their curiosity. But I didn’t want to hide anymore. I was sick of keeping this a secret and I ached to tell someone. But I knew divulging that information would only endanger my friend’s life.
I settled with, “Somewhere far away.”
Eirik chuckled. “I gathered as much. The strange way you use your words, the garments you arrived in, your odd connection to the Gods–”
“I don’t have any connection to the Gods,” I cut in. “Only Silas. I mean…Amun.” I shook my head tiredly. “Whatever you want to call him.”
“But you were apart for many years?”
“Yeah,” I replied with a nod. “He worked with my father, and they were presumed dead after a huge cave-in. I was left all alone. I…” My chin dropped to my chest and I fussed with the hem of my shirt as my mind dredged up the painful memories. “I drowned my sorrows in alcohol. For way too long. I became dependant on it. And now, it’s near impossible to resist it. I was doing good, though, before Horus kidnapped me. Then he–” I shook my head. I felt so pathetic. “He must have somehow picked up on my weakness.”
“And you’re sure he didn’t just pull that information from your mind?”
“No, I’m sure,” I said. “It’s, uh, it’s not hard to tell I crave it when it’s in front of me. Nothing else matters.”
We let a comfortable silence hang between us, matched by the stillness of the room. It felt good to be sharing my agony with someone. To talk about tragic events that brought me to this very moment in time.
I cleared my throat. “You know, I never thanked you for helping me with those two guards before.”
Tempest Minds: A Time Travel Fantasy Romance (Kingdom of Sand & Stars Book 2) Page 5
